Born a “red diaper baby” next to the George Washington Bridge in New York City, Janet Rose came of age in the sixties. While earning her master’s degree in English Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, she participated in the Free Speech Movement and co-edited the Vietnam Day Newsletter with Jerry Rubin. She remained active in the anti-war, civil rights, LGBTQ and women’s movements. In the last two decades, her political home has been the International Action Center, founded by Ramsey Clark.
At nine, having developed an avid interest in astronomy, but too poor to buy binoculars and a telescope, Janet decided that once she was over forty, she would be too old to appreciate Halley’s Comet. As soon as she could make money, she purchased her own equipment in anticipation of the comet and, of course, is still (at seventy) not too old to appreciate all the wonders of the universe.
The younger Janet was a fan of all the comic book superheroes, her first introduction to science fiction. Although War of the Worlds and The Thing terrified the youngster, the older Janet couldn’t get enough of Star Trek and Star Wars. She also gobbled up Isaac Asimov, Ursula Le Guin, Samuel Delany (among many others) and, of course, her favorite, Octavia Butler. All profoundly inspired her own science fiction. From them she learned that science fiction is one of the most versatile genres for political expression.
Janet didn’t write Beyond the Horse’s Eye for publication, but friends (especially her partner, Jeri Hilderley, author of Mari and Rune Seeker) and enthusiastic feedback at public readings convinced her to send out queries. After two years of trying, it was time to found WordSpace Publications and self-publish, which does, in the long run, give Janet more control over every aspect of her book, especially as our political climate veers further to the right!
Beyond the Horse’s Eye is for the ninety-nine percent.
janetrose100(at)yahoo(dot)com
